JIMMY AWAGL
An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry
I assume life in the city is better
I will migrate for better
I moved to town and cities
I find employment opportunities
I saw ‘Nogat Wok’ on office doors
I turn back into shanty homes
Am subject to social activities
Involve in gambling and bingos
Earn enough for the day
Lose enough for the day
I become a gambler
I become a Siki (security guard)
I become a street seller
I become a tin can collector
I become a buai seller (betel nut)
I struggle to earn enough
I earn to buy food
I earn to buy medical and school fees
I earn to buy clothes
I earn to survive
I do not own eating and cooking utensils
I eat scones from the vendors
I drink coffee from the vendors
I eat lamb flaps on the streets
I eat flour balls from the streets
I abandon home
Urban settlement is my home
My earnings is the garden
Which substitutes for food
This I see urban survival is good.